Intergenerational Trauma. African Descendants. America and Brazil. System of Racism. (I)
Intergenerational trauma is the result of cruelty that across generations with negative effects ranging from psychological issues to health problems. Trauma in African descendants’ impact, employment, relationships, segregation, behavior, criminality, abuse and the family structure. Recent studies showing that racism can cause trauma irreversible. The system of racism is present since the days of slavery and still in the present days. Many African descendants are victims of this systemic racism, most of them don’t know psychological problems are related to this. This topic is close to my heart because I am from a family which are descendants of slaves, I have been researching about how this background has affected my life and my generation. My parents always tried to “broke” the “umbrage” that my ancestors must have dealt with. Unfortunately, we (African descendants) carry a lot of trauma from our ancestors, as the way they lead their life as slaves has influenced the way they raised the next generation. Most slaves were abused both mentally and physically till they had no sense of self and were convinced that they were lesser than their ‘masters’. This feeling has been passed on through ages and it’s instilled a sense of insecurity and lack of confidence in us that makes it hard for me to say “no” to things that I don’t want to do. The feeling of not having the power to fight back for yourself and things that you need is ingrained in our subconscious. The problem is much bigger than we can imagine. Brazil and USA both share the shameful history of slavery. And generations after, the African descendants in these countries still suffer from self-esteem, mental and health problems.
Certain stereotypes, like, black people don’t have the same “pain” than whites, make the situation worse. Since the slavery, poor black people never have a good health care, they are looking for healing by themselves, because they know nobody really wants to help, they believe white people still have deep seated hatred for them. This mentality has been passed down through generations, it’s hard to trust someone when you have grown up listening from the beginning that the white people is not to be trusted. My grandmother never liked to go to the doctor, she always had the idea that she could cure herself using different natural products. She learnt this from her mother. My father still avoids doctors in this present day. I remember him telling me to trust only an Asian or a black doctor. In Brazil, the health care system is terrible, even if you are black and have money, you are still not treated equally in private hospitals, it’s almost like they can’t believe that is possible for African descendants to have money and that they should always remain poor and live of their charity. We have a tremendous mistrust of the health care system. Over centuries we have had lesser quality services as compared to white people.
After having their freedom, the slaves were put on the streets without job, clothes, food or house. This then forced them to work for the white man in exchange for food and home. A lot of them was forced to steal food or sleep in the private property to survive. The mind set of misery is stuck in the mind of the most black men in Brazil, unfortunately it is taught for generations. The black woman also has their fair share traumas. The mother and wife of the black men who were killed just because the skin of color suffered from anxiety and panic attacks. Many Brazilian slaves (women) were forced to give up their children, see their deaths and torture. This still happens every day in Brazil and USA. A person who is exposed to a situation that causes trauma it can affect entire lives and influence several generations. When one goes through something physically/emotionally distressing events in their life, it causes a deep scar in their subconscious mind. “Black pessimism”, made them believe that is not possible be free or have a good job, they lived in fear of their life and some even saw brutality daily.
Recently I read a book, “A Stone of Hope” where the author, Jim St. Germain, mentioned that he was born from anger because his dad was an angry person. Jim had a dysfunctional family, his father was complety absent and violent. The absence of father figure directly affected Jim’s behavior. He sees himself has a failure, because he didn’t have a father who showed him how to be a good man. The traumas of Jim came from several places, especially when he figures out, he can’t have the support from his family. These traumas blocked Jim to have many opportunities. This is an example that how intergenerational trauma can affect many generations, he saw in his father the behavior that he needs to survive. Most people take time to identify the cause of the behavior is due to a trauma experienced in the past. The best way to deal with trauma is talking with a specialist, like, psychologist. The process is long and arduous, and I feel it’s worth at the end. Unfortunately, not all people have access to health care, understanding exactly how it started and how it can end is part of the process of healing and resilience for Afro descendants, and finally break this cycle.
It is evident that intergenerational trauma is very present in our lives. From my own personal experience, I have seen that domestic violence and child abuse is present in most black household. It results in a “dysfunctional” marriage. A dysfunctional family coming from the pos t-traumatic slavery syndrome and patriarchal nuclear family structure. “PTSS is a concept developed by Dr. Joy to illustrate the adverse effects of institutionalized racism in the lives of African Americans. Without understanding how institutionalized racism has created a mismatch between the PNFS and the ability of many African Americans to obtain this American ideal, social work solutions to African American male–female relationships will be well intentioned, but ineffective” (Social work, 2019. Par. 6). During slavery the black people were not allowed to marry, and when marriage was allowed, it came with numerous conditions and rules.
It was not long ago that interracial relationships were banned in the USA. Although African Americans married during slavery, their marriages were not legally recognized because slaves were considered property under the law. In fact, black male and female relationships were undermined, violated, and traumatized. Male and female slaves needed permission from slave masters to marry. Slave masters used marriage to promote reproduction among slaves, leading to an increase in the number of slaves under their control. Since the beginning of African American presence in the United States, the African American family was incongruent with the patriarchal nuclear family. Male slaves were unable to fulfill patriarchal nuclear family roles as husbands, providers, protectors, and fathers. Female slaves worked outside of the home and were forced to be independent, as they could not depend on their husbands for safety and well-being. Male and female slaves were relegated to the role of physical laborers and their roles were equal, complementary, and necessary for survival. The slave family lived under looming threat that they, their partners, or their children could be beaten, raped, killed, or sold at any time (Social work, 2019). It has made the men fearful and angry at the same time.
